Description

Very creepy, with an emphasis on eerily simple piano and percussion at the beginning, which then morphs into the usual epic rock number, with a simple 3 chord power riff.

Additional information

It appears to be about perfectionism and the whole "Showbiz" theme: putting on a persona that doesn't reflect the persons true inner self. Matt believed it to be the best Muse song around July 1999, and when a fan asked why it wasn't on the album, he claimed it would be on the next album. Perhaps the band were saving it for the second album before deciding against it at some point after the release of Showbiz.[1] This may not be the case, however, as Matt revealed during the first discussion about Muscle Museum's release that Do We Need This was intended to be an Uno b-side, and he addressed the song as "bad".[2]

Music trivia

At 2:23, 2:31, 2:35, 2:38 and 2:43, there is a scratching sound, like a zip.
The part starting at 2:49 sounds almost identical to "Freedom" by "Rage Against The Machine" (the riff at 1:44).

Live

Most likely due to a lack of tracks to play at larger gigs, the song was played very often between April and August 1999. Do We Need This typically acted as the outro song or the second last to be played during these gigs. After August and with the exception of the November 10th gig the song was mostly left out of setlists. It made a few appearances in January 2000 as well as unconfirmed performances in February before being dropped.